Help wiring up fiat x1/9 pop up head light motors
Discussion
The best way is to copy the way Fiat wired them up. In the past, a number of kits using these had a habit of skimping on the number of relays used, and relied on the internal switches to carry motor current. This is a bad move. Use one relay per headlamp to carry the motor current and dynamic braking, plus one to control the direction. I don't have the wiring info to hand anymore as I sold the car I built that used them.
A common fault you may come across is blown diodes on the switch section. Not a problem, just replace them with something similar like a 1N4007. Just hope they haven't been up the lazy way and burnt out the internal switches, which I have seen before.
As long as you use the Fiat wiring, you'll find they work just fine.
I recall seeing the wiring for these over on the Stratos enthusiasts website recently.
HTH
A common fault you may come across is blown diodes on the switch section. Not a problem, just replace them with something similar like a 1N4007. Just hope they haven't been up the lazy way and burnt out the internal switches, which I have seen before.
As long as you use the Fiat wiring, you'll find they work just fine.
I recall seeing the wiring for these over on the Stratos enthusiasts website recently.
HTH
CorseChris said:
The best way is to copy the way Fiat wired them up. In the past, a number of kits using these had a habit of skimping on the number of relays used, and relied on the internal switches to carry motor current. This is a bad move. Use one relay per headlamp to carry the motor current and dynamic braking, plus one to control the direction. I don't have the wiring info to hand anymore as I sold the car I built that used them.
Interesting: I'm pretty sure that Fiat themselves skimped and did NOT use a relay in some vital part of the X1/9's headlamp wiring. Somewhere on Xweb there's a modification to add the relays. I was going to do it to my old X1/9 (but it was easier to sell it and get an MR2). Never owned an X 1/9, but the X 1/20 I had (Lancia Monte Carlo) certainyl needed extra relays to take the headlamp curent off the switches. I think it was pretty much normal back then to have the switch carry all the load....with the inevitable results.
The thing with the headlamp motors is that if wired up correctly, they work really well - they use dynamic braking to make sure they stop absolutely on the button.
Sorry, don't fancy the job TBH, I'm pretty much done with working on cars these days, but I'll try and find the info for you and mail it. It's pretty straightforward really.
The thing with the headlamp motors is that if wired up correctly, they work really well - they use dynamic braking to make sure they stop absolutely on the button.
Sorry, don't fancy the job TBH, I'm pretty much done with working on cars these days, but I'll try and find the info for you and mail it. It's pretty straightforward really.
Here you go, everything you ever wanted to know about X 1/9 headlamp motors.
http://xwebforums.org/showthread.php?t=18944
http://xwebforums.org/showthread.php?t=18944
No problem - hope it works out OK for you.
A very long time back I was asked to fix the headlamps on a batch of kit cars a local car dealer had bought. Can't remember wha they were now, other than having TR7 pop-up units and I think Alfa flat 4 engines in them. Every one of them had blown diodes on the motors bue to having been wired up the lazy way. IIRC, the basic design was identical to the X 1/9 units, they could even have been the same, but I think they were Lucas badged.
I had quite a batch of the Marelli jobs when I was first gathering parts to build my Strat copy many moons back, and found a fair few blown diodes and a couple had burnt out switches. I alway suspectted that the ones with burnt switches had also been wired up the lazy way.
A very long time back I was asked to fix the headlamps on a batch of kit cars a local car dealer had bought. Can't remember wha they were now, other than having TR7 pop-up units and I think Alfa flat 4 engines in them. Every one of them had blown diodes on the motors bue to having been wired up the lazy way. IIRC, the basic design was identical to the X 1/9 units, they could even have been the same, but I think they were Lucas badged.
I had quite a batch of the Marelli jobs when I was first gathering parts to build my Strat copy many moons back, and found a fair few blown diodes and a couple had burnt out switches. I alway suspectted that the ones with burnt switches had also been wired up the lazy way.
When you do the diode swaps, you might find some of the terminals are a bit reluctant to solder. If you do, be carefull about how much heat you put into the things! Best off with a big iron done quickly, rather than one that's too small and holding the heat on for a long time.
I was always impressed with how well the basic design actually works TBH. It's a really elegant idea I think. Mazda did too because they copied the design for the MX5. Although the motors are much lighter and faster, the way they work is indentical, but they improved on the idea by building the motor control relay into the unit. Well, I say improved, if the relay fails you are pretty screwed! At least with the Marelli jobs the relays are external and easily changed.
I did buy some of the Mazda motors ready to convert my Strat copy, but never got round to it before I sold it. The Marelli units never let me down while I had it, it was more of a case of if they did, I'd convert to the relatively newer Mazda jobs.
Best of luck with the job, and please do let us know how it goes.
I was always impressed with how well the basic design actually works TBH. It's a really elegant idea I think. Mazda did too because they copied the design for the MX5. Although the motors are much lighter and faster, the way they work is indentical, but they improved on the idea by building the motor control relay into the unit. Well, I say improved, if the relay fails you are pretty screwed! At least with the Marelli jobs the relays are external and easily changed.
I did buy some of the Mazda motors ready to convert my Strat copy, but never got round to it before I sold it. The Marelli units never let me down while I had it, it was more of a case of if they did, I'd convert to the relatively newer Mazda jobs.
Best of luck with the job, and please do let us know how it goes.
No, thanks - quite sure!! 
I'm not totally done though, just doing a batch of 3 Veglia tacho conversions at the moment. I still have contact with the Strat rep crowd and have had a batch of requests to make the much more avaialable Fiat 124 sport or 850 sport tachos work properly on a V6. I designed a replacement set of drive electroniccs for this job a few years back and made a set of 10 up, with anotehr 10 PCBs spare. I reckon when I finish htis last set, I'll have just about broken even on costs. Not made a bean on my time though.
And of course, I still have the Westy to look after, as well as the two tin-tops. Just find I can't be ar5ed to do it most of the time, which is a problem, as the jobs are starting to stack up. Got to do the cambelt & service on the Westy, engine & gearbox service and gearbox cooler pipe replacement on the Jeep, front lower suspension arm on the Alfa. Mmm, now I'm depressed again.....
Getting old I reckon.
I'm not totally done though, just doing a batch of 3 Veglia tacho conversions at the moment. I still have contact with the Strat rep crowd and have had a batch of requests to make the much more avaialable Fiat 124 sport or 850 sport tachos work properly on a V6. I designed a replacement set of drive electroniccs for this job a few years back and made a set of 10 up, with anotehr 10 PCBs spare. I reckon when I finish htis last set, I'll have just about broken even on costs. Not made a bean on my time though.
And of course, I still have the Westy to look after, as well as the two tin-tops. Just find I can't be ar5ed to do it most of the time, which is a problem, as the jobs are starting to stack up. Got to do the cambelt & service on the Westy, engine & gearbox service and gearbox cooler pipe replacement on the Jeep, front lower suspension arm on the Alfa. Mmm, now I'm depressed again.....
Getting old I reckon.
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